What is the comparative highway throughput, looking at a lane of traffic vs. a single hallitube ?
Carts shaped like rockets, with the driver recumbent, and having little air resistance will travel at peak speeds of 120 mph between exits, and at lower speeds after exits (acceleration phase) and before exits (braking phase). Carts have inflatable/gel packs in the front and back and are intended to touch when coming to complete halts. Under full, rather than initial utilization of the system, departing drivers are grouped in packs for a given exit (each tube only has a third of highway exits) to minimize periods of “switch ownership” by individual carts, thereby maximizing exit and entry from and into the main track. Throughput therefore forms a curve with a high plateau between exits, with carts passing a point every 2 seconds while still maintaining significant separation, and slowing briefly to about 8-12 seconds near the exits, depending on whether the rider composition was in a “pack”. When comparing a Hallitube throughput with a highway lane, it should be noted that the density
